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My girlfriend recently graduated from college with a degree in chemsitry. She is now working as a chemist for the local water authority making $25k a year. There are plenty of jobs that don't require ANY college degree where you make more than $25k a year. Chemistry is one of the harder degrees to get in college. (Chemistry, physics, engineering, math, biochem, I guess architecture, chemical engineering). Now I am not saying it takes a genius to get a science degree, but it takes a lot more work. You need to study and practice calculus, linear algebra, Pchem, orgo, etc. Whereas communication majors, business majors, and pretty much all non-STEM majors can pass a lot of their classes with just using common sense. I was a business major (econ) and I did not have to study much. I worked 35 hours a week and partied a lot, and was able to get decent grades without much effort. My girlfriend had to put in 40-60 hours a week to obtain the same grades I did. It's not as though she is not good at her field (she even came up with a new ligand, and got an A in quantum mechanics), but it requires a lot more studying and work to master. [more]